Anchoring device



P. A. VAILE.

ANCHORING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED 525.20.1919.

1,332,651.. Patented Mar.2,1920.

By W

' A HORNE PEMBROKE A. VAILE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

ASSIGNOR T0 REGINALD F. WOODS AND HARRY S. WALSH, BOTH OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AN CHORIN G DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 2, 1920.

Application filed February 20, 1919. Serial No. 278,125.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PEMBROKE A. VAILE, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and Improved Anchoring Devices, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in devices for securing the central strap of tennis nets.

One of the primary objects of the invention is to provide a device of this character by means of which the center section of a tennis net may be maintained in position with its upper edge the proper distance from the surface of the court at all times.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which is adapted to remain in position in the court at all times.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device in which the hook commonly employed in connection with the center straps of tennis nets may be readily attached.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, reference is had to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a por-- tion of a tennis net showing the anchoring device in place in the court;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of one member of the anchoring device;

Fig. 3 is an edge view thereof; Fig. 4; is a front elevation of a further member of the anchoring device;

Fig. 5 is an edge view partly in section;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the method in which the strap hook is attached to the anchoring device.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the reference character 10 designates a tennis net, the center strap thereof being designated by the numeral 11. The center strap 11 is provided in the ordinary manner, with a hook suitably attached thereto. The center strap 11 is preferably made of an endless webbing material, through which the net is adapted to be passed before the same is set up in its operative position.

The r ference character 13 designates a driving stake, one end of which is tapered, asat 14, the other end being engaged to form a head 15. The head 15 is bifurcated as at 16, the space between the furcations terminating in a transversely and angularly disposed slot-17, which, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4:, is larger than the space 1.6 between the furcations of the bifurcated head 15. Bridging the space between the furcations of the bifurcated head 15, is a rigid bar 18, preferably circular in cross section.

The reference character 19 designates a stake, one end of which is tapered as at 20, the opposite end being formed with a T- head 21. The under edge of this T-head 21 is angularly disposed, as shown at 22, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described. On one of its faces, the peg 19 is provided with a recess 23, the upper end of which is square and terminates in a line parallel with one edge of the angular wall 22 of said head.

In operation, the peg 13 is adapted to be driven into the surface of the court at an angle, as shown in Fig. 1, until the upper end is substantially flush with the surface of the court. After the peg 13 has been driven to this position, the stake 19 is inserted into the angularly disposed slot 17, and is driven therethrough until the angular portion 22 of said stake 19 engages the upper face of the furcations of the bifurcated head 15 of the peg 13. By this arrangement, it will be seen that the stake 19 is driven into the ground angularly with respect to the peg 13, thus locking said peg 13 from displacement. The hook 12 carried by the center strap 11 is now engaged with the transversely extending rigid member 18, the recess 23 providing sufiicient space to permit of this operation.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that as the net is subjected to strains from various causes, said strains will always be in a vertical plane, and owing to the angular disposition of the peg 13 and its anchoring stake 19, the vertical strain is thrown approximately in a plane at right angles to the anchoring stake 19, thus preventing the peg 13 from becoming disengaged with the court. This arrangement prevents the displa e e t o t e anchoring device of the center strap and serves to maintain the sage angularly disposedwithrespect to the 10 upper edge of the net at proper distance from said space arranged in a vertical plane,

the top surface of the court at all times. strap-attaching means connecting the fur- Having thus described the invention, cations of the bifurcated end and a stake 5 what is claimed is: adapted to be passed through said stake- An anchorlng device comprising a peg receiving passage, said stake having on its 15 having one of its ends bifurcated to form an upper face a recess to permit of attachment elongated space disposed in a vertical plane, of the strap to the strap-attaching means.

and terminating in a stake-receiving pas- PEMBROKE A. VAILE. 

